1,211 research outputs found
Techno-economic viability of integrating satellite communication in 4G networks to bridge the broadband digital divide
Bridging the broadband digital divide between urban and rural areas in Europe is one of the main targets of the Digital Agenda for Europe. Though many technological options are proposed in literature, satellite communication has been identified as the only possible solution for the most rural areas, due to its global coverage. However, deploying an end-to-end satellite solution might, in some cases, not be cost-effective. The aim of this study is to give insights into the economic effectiveness of integrating satellite communications into 4G networks in order to connect the most rural areas (also referred to as white areas) in Europe. To this end, this paper proposes a converged solution that combines satellite communication as a backhaul network with 4G as a fronthaul network to bring enhanced broadband connectivity to European rural areas, along with a techno-economic model to analyse the economic viability of this integration. The model is based on a Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) model for 5 years, taking into account both capital and operational expenditures, and aims to calculate the TCO as well as the Average Cost Per User (ACPU) for the studied scenarios. We evaluate the suggested model by simulating a hypothetical use case for two scenarios. The first scenario is based on a radio access network connecting to the 4G core network via a satellite link. Results for this scenario show high operational costs. In order to reduce these costs, we propose a second scenario, consisting of caching the popular content on the edge to reduce the traffic carried over the satellite link. This scenario demonstrates a significant operational cost decrease (more than 60%), which also means a significant ACPU decrease. We evaluate the robustness of the results by simulating for a range of population densities, hereby also providing an indication of the economic viability of our proposed solution across a wider range of areas
Competitive Assessments for HAP Delivery of Mobile Services in Emerging Countries
In recent years, network deployment based on High Altitude Platforms (HAPs)
has gained momentum through several initiatives where air vehicles and
telecommunications payloads have been adapted and refined, resulting in more
efficient and less expensive platforms. In this paper, we study HAP as an
alternative or complementary fast-evolving technology to provide mobile
services in rural areas of emerging countries, where business models need to be
carefully tailored to the reality of their related markets. In these large
areas with low user density, mobile services uptake is likely to be slowed by a
service profitability which is in turn limited by a relatively low average
revenue per user. Through three architectures enabling different business roles
and using different terrestrial, HAP and satellite backhaul solutions, we
devise how to use in an efficient and profitable fashion these multi-purpose
aerial platforms, in complement to existing access and backhauling satellite or
terrestrial technologies
Will SDN be part of 5G?
For many, this is no longer a valid question and the case is considered
settled with SDN/NFV (Software Defined Networking/Network Function
Virtualization) providing the inevitable innovation enablers solving many
outstanding management issues regarding 5G. However, given the monumental task
of softwarization of radio access network (RAN) while 5G is just around the
corner and some companies have started unveiling their 5G equipment already,
the concern is very realistic that we may only see some point solutions
involving SDN technology instead of a fully SDN-enabled RAN. This survey paper
identifies all important obstacles in the way and looks at the state of the art
of the relevant solutions. This survey is different from the previous surveys
on SDN-based RAN as it focuses on the salient problems and discusses solutions
proposed within and outside SDN literature. Our main focus is on fronthaul,
backward compatibility, supposedly disruptive nature of SDN deployment,
business cases and monetization of SDN related upgrades, latency of general
purpose processors (GPP), and additional security vulnerabilities,
softwarization brings along to the RAN. We have also provided a summary of the
architectural developments in SDN-based RAN landscape as not all work can be
covered under the focused issues. This paper provides a comprehensive survey on
the state of the art of SDN-based RAN and clearly points out the gaps in the
technology.Comment: 33 pages, 10 figure
Network sharing and co-investments in NGN as a way to fulfill the goal with the digital agenda
The European Commission and most European countries have set ambitious broadband targets aiming to provide up to 100 Mbits to the end-customers. On back of a declining fixed market, negative growth for operators and a slow take up of fiber while maintaining high capex levels operators will ultimately be forced to take innovative approaches towards broadband investments. This paper relates co-investments in NGA to the regulatory framework in the form of SMP regulation and competition law making the conclusion that the current regulatory framework is sufficient to avoid a distorted competition on the market. A number of examples of ongoing co-investment projects are presented underscoring a growing interest for co-investments and indicating that co-investments, at this point, are not hampering competition. The mobile industry has gradually moved towards network sharing indicating a tendency towards vertical disintegration, although so far only a tendency. The ongoing structural separation of Telecom New Zealand with the establishment of a separate network and wholesale company is an indication of this development. The paper concludes by stating that regulators have appropriate tools to handle potential competition issues regarding coinvestments, that co-investments could be a vehicle for reaching the broadband targets, that there are efficiency gains for operators to make by lower Opex and capex, and ultimately giving network companies the means to utilize their balance sheet in order to increase the return.NGA,co-investment,SMP regulation,horizontal and vertical agreements,capex,network sharing,financial gearing
Analysis of resource sharing in transparent networks
Transparent optical networking promises a cost-efficient solution for future core and metro networks because of the efficacy of switching high-granularity trunk traffic without opto-electronic conversion. Network availability is an important performance parameter for network operators, who are incorporating protection and restoration mechanisms in the network to achieve competitive advantages. This paper focuses on the reduction in Capital Expenditures (CapEx) expected from implementing sharing of backup resources in path-protected transparent networks. We dimension a nationwide network topology for different protection mechanisms using transparent and opaque architectures. We investigate the CapEx reductions obtained through protection sharing on a population of 1000 randomly generated biconnected planar topologies with 14 nodes. We show that the gain for transparent networks is heavily dependent on the offered load, with almost no relative gain for low load (no required parallel line systems). We also show that for opaque networks the CapEx reduction through protection sharing is independent of the traffic load and shows only a small dependency on the number of links in the network. The node CapEx reduction for high load (relative to the number of channels in a line system) is comparable to the CapEx reduction in opaque OTN systems. This is rather surprising as in OTN systems the number of transceivers and linecards and the size of the OTN switching matrix all decrease, while in transparent networks only the degree of the ROADM (number and size of WSSs in the node) decreases while the number of transponders remains the same
Joint Access-Backhaul Perspective on Mobility Management in 5G Networks
The ongoing efforts in the research development and standardization of 5G, by
both industry and academia, have resulted in the identification of enablers
(Software Defined Networks, Network Function Virtualization, Distributed
Mobility Management, etc.) and critical areas (Mobility management,
Interference management, Joint access-backhaul mechanisms, etc.) that will help
achieve the 5G objectives. During these efforts, it has also been identified
that the 5G networks due to their high degree of heterogeneity, high QoS demand
and the inevitable density (both in terms of access points and users), will
need to have efficient joint backhaul and access mechanisms as well as enhanced
mobility management mechanisms in order to be effective, efficient and
ubiquitous. Therefore, in this paper we first provide a discussion on the
evolution of the backhaul scenario, and the necessity for joint access and
backhaul optimization. Subsequently, and since mobility management mechanisms
can entail the availability, reliability and heterogeneity of the future
backhaul/fronthaul networks as parameters in determining the most optimal
solution for a given context, a study with regards to the effect of future
backhaul/fronthaul scenarios on the design and implementation of mobility
management solutions in 5G networks has been performed.Comment: IEEE Conference on Standards for Communications & Networking,
September 2017, Helsinki, Finlan
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